It has become all the rage to collect a variety of items including model cars, dolls and stuffed animals. Of particular interest of late, are the BEANIE BABIES stuffed toys manufactured and sold by Ty Inc. Various paperboard carriers are being manufactured as display devices.
The present invention provides a competitively priced display case made of durable, transparent or opaque plastic to which an attachable handle can be affixed and the display case, with its collectible treasures, transported. Each display case has a plurality of compartments, in the preferred embodiment, four equal volume areas, and is provided with a hinged cover for its front face. The cover is clear plastic with four bubble windows which permit viewing of the compartments' contents. The cover is attached to a front edge of the top so that the cover can pivot up to provide access to the compartments or downwardly to snap in place to provide securement of the compartments and their contents for possible transport. The pivoting of the front cover can be accomplished without contacting, or interference from, an adjacent interlocked case.
Each case is configured with first interlocking means on the top and a second interlocking means on the bottom to enable vertically adjacent cases to be interconnected. Similarly, first interlocking means is provided on one end and second interlocking means is provided on the opposite end so that laterally adjacent cases can be interconnected. The means for interlocking vertically adjacent cases is preferably one tongue and one groove on the top and one groove and one tongue on the bottom to engage a vertically adjacent case. The vertically adjacent cases are interlocked by aligning a back of one of the vertically adjacent cases with the front of the case beneath it and sliding it from front toward the back of the lower case to cause its groove and tongue to slide into locking engagement with the tongue and groove of the other case. The means for interconnecting a case to a laterally adjacent case comprises a tongue on one end and a groove on the other. The pair of laterally adjacent cases are interlocked by positioning a tongue on one side of one case in front of the groove on an adjacent case (or visa versa) and sliding the case rearwardly so the tongue slides into the groove. The attachable handle can be secured to the top of an individual display case by sliding its groove and tongue onto the tongue and groove of that case, or the handle may be turned end for end and secured to the tops of two adjacent cases which have been interconnected by sliding the handle onto a groove of one case and a tongue of a laterally adjacent interconnected case, to provide a transportable unit comprised of as many of four interlocked cases.
Various other features, advantages and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after a reading of the following specification.